A medieval church has ditched bellringers in place for a £30,000 touchscreen system after the bells were deemed too delicate for humans.
The bells at church in north Cornwall have not been rung for the past 50 years after the five bells were removed due to safety fears.
After years of fundraising to restore the 17th-century bells at St Sampson’s Church, they were assessed as being too delicate to be rung using the conventional rope-and-clapper method.
Instead, each bell inside the church tower in South Hill, near Callington, has had an electromagnetic hammer installed inside.
The bells can now make a series of pre-programmed peels suitable for all church occasions like weddings, services and funerals.
Wardens say a full restoration would have cost close to £200,000, but volunteers fundraised £30,000 to bring back the bells with the new method.
The bells, four of which date back to 1698 and one to 1831, chime when a button on a touch screen on the wall is pushed.
Churchwarden Judith Ayres said: ‘It was just amazing to see them come back on the lorry, see them hoisted back in the tower, and hear them again for the first time in 50 years.
The bells at the Cornwall church have not been rung for the past 50 years after the five bells were removed due to safety fears
The bells can now make a series of pre-programmed peels suitable for all church occasions like weddings, services and funerals. Pictured: Chris Beckett using the control system to use the bells
‘It was something very special.
‘They were taken down because they were unsafe, before they fell down basically.
‘We’ve had the bells restored and hung back up.
‘They’re now electronic static chimed, not full circle swung, because the bells are listed.
‘They can’t be returned because they’re too thin and they would break, and they can’t be sold.
‘We did wonder when they were taken down if we’d ever raise enough to get them back again, but we did.
‘We were very pleased to get them back.’
For congregation member and unofficial church historian Miranda Lawrance-Owen, hearing them again was an emotional moment.
‘It was so exciting. It was wonderful and made me want to cry,’ she said.
Two professionals from Taylors Bellfoundry were assisted by a team of local volunteers during the week-long process of putting the bells back up.
They can now be programmed in advance for Sunday services, weddings and funerals.
Ms Ayres added: ‘We had different people on different days helping, which was great.
‘The community involvement has been huge and really supportive.
‘We’re all thrilled to have the bells back whether we go to church or not.’